Lord Don't Slow Me Down Review

Release Date: October 29, 2007
Although it is not your traditional documentary, Lord Don’t Slow Me Down has a cinematic quality makes it difficult to look away.

Sound:	8
Content:	9
Production:	9
Impression:	9
Overall rating:	8.8
Users rating:	7.5
Comments:	26

overall: 8.8

Featured review by: UG Team, on november 15, 2007

Sound: There have been plenty of jokes about how Oasis is the “greatest band in the world since The Beatles” (check out the classic SNL skit if you haven’t already), and the band’s newest DVD shows you just how close the band (at least in it's awe-inspiring number of fans) has come to verifying the statement. Lord Don’t Slow Me Down is a 2-disk set featuring a more artistic documentary than what you might expect, as well as a concert in Manchester from 2005. If the DVD is anything, it’s fascinating. Between the constant swagger of Liam Gallagher, the pithy comments made by both Gallagher brothers, and the larger-than-life concert scenes, Lord Don’t Slow Me Down is hard to turn off.

The 1st disk focuses on the documentary tour film, which takes an unexpected approach in relaying the details of Oasis’s tour from 2005 to 2006. The 95-minute film pieces together interviews and concert clips with various camera shots that are meant to be a little on the artsy side. The film is shot in black and white, while the camera angles are every which way at times. It’s all meant to be dramatic, and visually it does feel like a music video. The documentary itself is at times a little bit hard to follow because you have to get through some thick accents. But for some reason it can still be pretty interesting to watch, even when vocalist Liam Gallagher isn’t the best at annunciating during an interview.

There is what appears to be a true Beatles-type following in England for Oasis, with about 20,000 people showing up for the Manchester concert. Watching the crowd alone is intriguing, particularly considering that it looks like every single person in the audience is jumping in unison during the show. While the tour film is edited together flawlessly, the concert video takes more of a straightforward approach. There’s even an unexpected moment at the very beginning of the Manchester show when the barricades actually needed to be reinforced, following which the band explains to the audience very clearly that everyone needs to take a step back. The band deserves kudos for keeping this imperfect moment in the DVD.

The music featured during the 16-track concert portion features the band’s biggest hits as well as some nice extras. “Wonderwall,” “Live Forever,” and “Don’t Look Back In Anger” are all greeted with insanely loud cheers, and the band does a satisfying job of playing the hits live. The lead vocal audio (on both Liam and Noel’s songs) could have been a little bit louder to get the full effect, but at times it wouldn’t have mattered because the crowd was singing over everything anyway. The band does a solid cover of “My Generation” at the finale, but it actually would have been nice to hear one of the band’s originals as the closing number. // 8

Content: Between the 2 disks, there is plenty to watch on Lord Don’t Slow Me Down. The tour documentary actually may need a few viewings to take everything in, particularly because the editing is often done in a bit of a spontaneous manner. But director Baillie Walsh did an excellent job of compiling a wide assortment of media interviews, backstage antics, and private, personal moments. There is a fantastic extra that is Q&A audio segment with Noel, where the guitarist comes across as both witty and intelligent. Also included is a band commentary to accompany the entire film, but once again it’s often times hard to catch everything said because of the accents.

The concert portion is beautifully shot, especially when the director uses angles that include the massive sea of people at the arena. While the audio may not be as clear as some other music DVDs out there, Oasis fans should appreciate the subtle, ultra-cool delivery of Liam and the gang. One bonus feature on the concert disk is dedicated to the videos that fans shot during the show. As you might expect, there are more than a few that are almost unbearable to watch because the person was probably shooting from way, way in the back of the arena -- and not with the best camera, either. But excellent visual quality was most likely not the point for that bonus section, and it is cool to see that fans played a role in the DVD’s content. // 9

Production Quality: Baillie Walsh’s film definitely has more of an artistic feel, and you don’t ever feel like you’re watching a traditional documentary. In terms of the way the film is pieced together, editor Struan Clay should be commended for the intricate editing job. There are a lot of different scenes connected together that might not have worked well if the wrong editor was behind it all. In the end, Lord Don’t Slow Me Down does succeed in feeling more like a true film than just a DVD. // 9

Impression: After seeing the enthusiastic reaction of fans at the Manchester show, it’s safe to say that Oasis fans will relish in every minute of the new DVD. While the band may not have the popularity overseas that it did during the “Wonderwall” days, Noel doesn’t hesitate to address that fact during the Q&A portion. There’s a sense of humility to the guitarist now that you might not have witnessed when he was proclaiming himself the best thing since Elvis back in the '90s. That down-to-earth vibe isn’t always directly apparent for Liam during the film, though, particularly when the frontman does seem to keep somewhat of an attitude during many of his interviews.

Both disks included in the DVD are interesting in their own way, but the documentary film will lure you in more like a movie on the big screen. While it might not give you quite as much information as some traditional documentaries out there, Lord Don’t Slow Me Down is a fascinating glimpse into what might just still be the biggest band in Britain. // 9

Comments

[HooliganOnE]

Manchestaaaaahhhhh! You mad fer iiiiitttt?

Who dare's to doubt that they are the best band in the world?

[kaptink]

I wouldn't say the best band in the world. But classic Oasis is damn close!

[shifty33]

Dunno about 'best in world' but i'd like to think they are. Their music is what got me into guitar in the first place. I love Oasis but think the Beatles were the original 'Best in the world' in their era !

[jaxtheaxe]

personally thought the DVD was a little pointless. Still worth a watch 6/10

[tidspanik]

Were can you see the SNL joke? Can't find it on youtube or at SNL's homepage. However, there is a nice clip on youtube with a great performance by Oasis (and a HILARIOUS ending) on SNL in '97.

[Jalopy1919]

tidspanik wrote:

Were can you see the SNL joke? Can't find it on youtube or at SNL's homepage. However, there is a nice clip on youtube with a great performance by Oasis (and a HILARIOUS ending) on SNL in '97.

you mean the one with Noel scratching himself?

[LiamGallagher]

20,000? at the Manchester gig? Bollocks, it was 60,000+

[Serjem]

i love oasis :P

[Social D Rox]

One of my faves. That new single isnt too great though. Im excited for the new album though. Mid December baby.

[emi_becker]

oasis is the worst and more mediocre band i ever heard

[Jalopy1919]

emi_becker wrote:

oasis is the worst and more mediocre band i ever heard

Have you actually heard an Oasis CD?

[digweed6969]

Mid december ??? Yeah right !1

[digweed6969]

Social D Rox wrote:

One of my faves. That new single isnt too great though. Im excited for the new album though. Mid December baby.

The new oasis album is not coming out till way later next year, at best. It wouldn't shock me if we didn't hear it till 2009! December haha ..

[notsojoeyb4eva]

oasis is the worst and more mediocre band i ever heard

Your so far from wrong that 'right' is now but a pimple on your feeble mind.
Oasis are will and will be forever the greatest band on earth since the beatles.

[manu777]

oasis is the only true rock and roll band today man. everything else is emo, punk, alternative, indie, or some other subspecies.....come on...you don't see performances like Familiar To Millions anymore.
you may like it or not, but you can't call them mediocre. So they're not famous in america, big deal...they are everywhere else...

[properBo]

manu777 wrote:

So they're not famous in america, big deal...they are everywhere else...

That doesn't make them a good band.

[Abe]

^Crap bands can't get massive all over the world, it just doesn't happen. The fact they are big all over the world makes them at the very least a 'good' band, because mediocre bands don't manage it either. So what you said is total crap IMO.

The only reason Oasis are massive all around the world is because millions and millions of people think they're great.

[CurtisJay]

exactly, the beatles, were famous world wide, i dont understand peoples obsession with oasis, the have simple songs, with open chords, that dont appeal to me at all

[SkinnyWhiteBoy]

I'll admit, Wonderwall was a great tune, but for Christ's sake they don't deserve the "Best band in the world" title! Yes, they're a nice listen, I'm sure of it, but mass appeal doesn't make a band any better than another. I also find the argument of popularity to be stupid. It's like saying Fall Out Boy is simply amazing because they are widely successful. Yes, they might be the most fantastic to someone, as they probably are to many, but that doesn't make them better than anyone else. They just know how to be attractive to people (not just talking about their looks). Or, perhaps, saying that Bush was a great president in '04 because he won the election.

Yeah, sorry, Oasis might be terrific and groundbreaking for some, but I'll take my Mars Volta over them any day of the week.

(please, refrain from turning this into an argument, I was simply just stating my opinion)

[manu777]

I admit that world wide success doesn't make a band good. After all there are crap bands that are famous too.
But i'm willing to learn. Anyone who doesnt like Oasis, just name bands you like, or a band that you think is the best band in the world, but that are in the same genre as Oasis, which is main stream, larger than life, straight up rock & roll. After all you can't compare Oasis to Gym Class Heroes (i can't stand them by the way), anymore than you can compare Techno to Hip Hop


And there's nothing wrong with a song being simple. I don't get this obsession people have with complexity.
"wish you were here", "knocking on heaven's door", "mr. tambourine man" "imagine", "american pie", anything by the beatles, (and more of course) are some the easiest to play, and some of the greatest songs of all time.

[Roland_Casey]

FANS LIKE ME SHOULD BUY THIS. BUT HAVE TO SAY DISC 1 IS BORING. DISC 2 CAN BLOW YOUR MIND. AND THE PICTURES IS CLEAR.(HD? I AM NOT SURE)

[Wannabe Page!]

Roland_Casey wrote:

FANS LIKE ME SHOULD BUY THIS. BUT HAVE TO SAY DISC 1 IS BORING. DISC 2 CAN BLOW YOUR MIND. AND THE PICTURES IS CLEAR.(HD? I AM NOT SURE)

disk 1 isn't boring you ****ing knobhead...if u are a fan u'll love it. it's just a different approach

but disk 2 is absolutely stunning.

A MUST HAVE!

[Micky!]

thats rock n roll for u!!!

[Micky!]

Fock off roland casey ya queer

[timoi1]

I am a massive Oasis fan, but I do feel slightly cheated Almost this entire documentary was on Channel 4 quite a while ago. I can't be certain but it was about 6-9 months back and a lot of the stuff on the documentary I'd already seen before. I'm surprised no one else has realised. Obviously there's quite a chunk of new stuff and I got it for christmas so I'm not complaining. The audio commentary is very funny too, with some great running gags. Disc 2 is great as well

[jv_music]

They can be the best band or close to it in the world statistically, but there's always haters and lovers. It's like Led Zeppelin. Almost every guitarist probably loves them or at least respect them, but there's always a hater.

manu777 wrote:

I admit that world wide success doesn't make a band good. After all there are crap bands that are famous too.
But i'm willing to learn. Anyone who doesnt like Oasis, just name bands you like, or a band that you think is the best band in the world, but that are in the same genre as Oasis, which is main stream, larger than life, straight up rock & roll. After all you can't compare Oasis to Gym Class Heroes (i can't stand them by the way), anymore than you can compare Techno to Hip Hop


And there's nothing wrong with a song being simple. I don't get this obsession people have with complexity.
"wish you were here", "knocking on heaven's door", "mr. tambourine man" "imagine", "american pie", anything by the beatles, (and more of course) are some the easiest to play, and some of the greatest songs of all time.

+1

And well, every band/genre will have a fan base. You can write songs about eating s*** and I bet there's gonna be a fan base. People's taste are different anyways.